70 pages • 2 hours read
John SteinbeckA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
In chronicles that celebrate the exploits of warriors, the novel features a surprising number of damsels. Many of these young women remain unnamed, but they all fulfill the same role—initiators of quests. Some are good, some evil, some simply decorative, but they all further the plot by drawing some hapless knight into an adventure.
Balin only retrieves his second sword because a damsel has brought it to Camelot at the request of the lady Lyle of Avalon. The damsel warns of dire consequences if the sword is not returned to her, but Balin fails to heed her warning. His subsequent quest for redemption is the result of his initial interaction with the sword-bearing girl. Arthur’s wedding feast is disrupted by a damsel on horseback who demands the return of her hunting dog just before being abducted by an unknown knight. This event leads to no less than three separate quests by banquet attendees. The damsel is revealed to be the formidable Nyneve, who later captivates Merlin.
In the tale of Gawain, Ewain, and Marhalt, three damsels offer to lead the knights on separate quests. They give valuable guidance and instruction along the way. Damsels also abound in Lancelot’s story to such a degree that he complains about the number of distressed females he meets: “It appears that there is no damsel in the world without a problem whose solution requires the jeopardy of my life” (257-58).
By John Steinbeck
Cannery Row
Cannery Row
John Steinbeck
East of Eden
East of Eden
John Steinbeck
Flight
Flight
John Steinbeck
In Dubious Battle
In Dubious Battle
John Steinbeck
Of Mice and Men
Of Mice and Men
John Steinbeck
Sweet Thursday
Sweet Thursday
John Steinbeck
The Chrysanthemums
The Chrysanthemums
John Steinbeck
The Grapes of Wrath
The Grapes of Wrath
John Steinbeck
The Harvest Gypsies
The Harvest Gypsies: On the Road to the Grapes of Wrath
John Steinbeck
The Log From The Sea of Cortez
The Log From The Sea of Cortez
John Steinbeck
The Long Valley
The Long Valley
John Steinbeck
The Moon Is Down
The Moon Is Down
John Steinbeck
The Pearl
The Pearl
John Steinbeck
The Red Pony
The Red Pony
John Steinbeck
The Wayward Bus
The Wayward Bus
John Steinbeck
The Winter Of Our Discontent
The Winter Of Our Discontent
John Steinbeck
To a God Unknown
To a God Unknown
John Steinbeck
Tortilla Flat
Tortilla Flat
John Steinbeck
Travels With Charley
Travels With Charley
John Steinbeck